All signs said it might be a good night for The Mistress in the $6,700 Open II Pace for fillies and mares at Batavia Downs Wednesday night. The signs were right.
Conditioned by Batavia Downs' leading trainer John Mungillo, guided by top driver Greg Merton and starting off the rail, The Mistress ($5.60) took advantage of all the positives and cruised to a one and a quarter length victory over White Jade in 1:56.2 on the fast track and extended her win streak to three.
White Jade, the 3-5 favourite, took the early advantage, but The Mistress regained the lead by the quarter pole. It was clear sailing from there as she paced fractions of :28.4, :58.4 and 1:27.4 and never looked back. White Jade (Ray Fisher Jr.) held on for second while Delightful Syd (Kevin Cummings) took the show spot as neither posed a serious threat in the stretch.
The Mistress (Astreos-One Enforser) is a six-year-old mare owned by Super Mile LLC. She now has four victories in 14 starts in 2013 and upped her earnings to $18,227 and $180,316 lifetime.
Racing at Batavia resumes Friday night with a 12-race program scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. The featured $8,500 Open Trot will go off as the seventh race with Mythical Hall the 3-1 morning line favourite. Kevin Cummings will be in the sulky and score Mythical Hall from the three post. There will also be a pair of CKG Billings amateur races, which will be the second and fourth races on card.
(With files from Batavia Downs)